Labor Day weekend travel set to make history as busiest ever

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Travelers set to take to the skies and roadways over the Labor Day holiday travel period are set to make history as it is projected to be the busiest ever.

Kansas City aviation officials announced on Friday, Aug. 23, that more than 232,000 travelers are expected to arrive and depart from the Kansas City International Airport during the Labor Day travel period, Aug. 29 – Sept. 4. That is up 1.4% from 2023.

Transportation officials noted that the business travel day is expected to be Friday, with 44,537 passengers at MCI. The Kansas City Chiefs’ home opener on Thursday, Sept. 5, is also projected to increase the number of travelers on Wednesday.

The Transportation Security Administration said it is prepared to screen more than 17 million travelers nationwide over what is set to be the busiest Labor Day travel period ever.

The TSA noted that the busiest travel day is expected to be on Aug. 30 when 2.86 million travelers are set to take off. Air travel volumes during the summer of 2024 have been the highest in history.

The agency indicated that it expects passenger volumes to be 8.5% higher than this time in 2023. There have already been 239.8 million travelers screened since Memorial Day weekend, an average of 2.7 million individuals each day.

The TSA said the top 10 busiest travel days in the agency’s history have all happened since May 2024. A new milestone was reached on July 7 when TSA Officers screened more than 3 million people.

“People are traveling more than ever this summer and TSA along with our airline and airport partners stand ready to close the busiest summer travel period on record during this upcoming Labor Day weekend,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “I commend our vigilant workforce, from our TSOs on the front lines at airport security checkpoints across the country to those behind the scenes, working hard to keep the transportation system secure—especially as we continue to roll out new checkpoint technology that improves security effectiveness, efficiency, and the passenger experience.”

Agency officials indicated that it is staffed to meet wait time standards 0 10 minutes with TSA PreCheck and 20 minutes in standard screening lanes. With the increase in travelers, airline passengers have been recommended to enroll in the TSA PreCheck Trusted Traveler Program.

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